There was a time in my life when I began to see there was purpose in the 
pain and trials we go through. I came up with a little catch phrase that helped me when in the middle of another “thing.”
I would tell myself, ” Things happen TO me, so that something can happen IN me.” As I would repeat this when something was happening TO me, it helped me regain a focus on God’s purpose, and a better focus would help me live a better life in the middle of the hard stuff. Bottom line is…God is developing us, changing us, shaping us. Think of your nail and a nail file…the shaping takes some rubbing, some friction from the rough file. Life is not much different. To be shaped requires getting at the rough spots.
Let’s take a look at the way God works as we are being developed through life:
Today’s Truth: The Story of the Potter and the Pot, Jeremiah 18
“Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the wheel. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make. Then the word of the LORD came to me saying” ” O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter? says the LORD. ” Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in MY hand, O house of Israel!”
We are the clay in the potter’s hand. As he forms us, if things are not forming as planned, just like the potter, he will remake us into a vessel that seems good to Him. Let’s recap for application.
- The pot he was making was marred: is there something in your life that is leaving a “mar” on the vessel that God is making?
- So the potter formed another pot: when we are not shaping as planned, God re-forms us into what His design for us is. We must remember that He has a plan for us, His vessel.
- Shaping it as seemed BEST to HIM: Because He knows the outcome, He knows what within us needs to be shaped or filed. And in real life, the reforming of the vessel happens through circumstances…the hard stuff.
- Like clay in the hand of the potter so are you in my hand: good news is we are in His hand, being shaped, on his wheel, being molded day by day, circumstance by
circumstance, as seems Best to God.
Oh…but that was so long ago, those old stories about the people of Israel, what does that have to do with me…here today?
Romans 15:4
“For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”
Through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures…we might have hope.
We see God’s Patience in the story of the Potter’s House!
Sometimes, due to the choices we make, our life is spinning out of control
- Or…the pot God is making becomes marred with our bad or flesh choices
- Other times, it’s not our choices, but rather another person’s choices that affect us
- Often it’s circumstances that are out of our control, when Life Happens. But, in and through it all…God is God, there is a bigger picture and He can be trusted.
Today Thank God that YOU are a vessel on His Wheel!
Today’s Prayer
Lord, I thank you that you will continue to shape me as seems best to you. I know that there are “mars” in my heart and life. I am asking you to continue shaping me according to your plan. I trust that I am in the Potter’s Hand!
